|
General information
The best place in Chamonix, to prepare to climb is actually in the heart of the village, which is "Maison de la Montagne", in front of the church. Here you can find the guide company, weather forecasts and OHM (Office de Haute Montagne). Although OHM is in the same building as the guides' office, their role is entirely different, as they are sponsored by the Town of Chamonix. Their mission is not to guide people, but to offer information on route conditions and give people advice. If you would like to pre book a guide please call us.
If you need to rent gear in Chamonix, try "Sport Extreme", which has an extensive choice.
If you're going to use the Aiguille du Midi cable-car for an early start, aim to get there before 6am since there will be a crowd (and professional guides have priority). The reservations (by phone) are recommended for huts, but the hut keeper will generally find a spot for you to sleep if your party is just 2 or 3 people. This does apply to the Gouter hut (see below), although it is always overcrowded, but there if you don't have reservations, you won't get a bed (but reservations are made months in advance anyway).
Rescue is free in France. It is a public service on public lands, and all high mountain areas are, except for some ski resorts. It is why you need an insurance to go skiing, and not to go climbing ! They do take advantage of unaware people. But if you are on public land (ski resorts are another matter), the legislation is clear.
Alpine climbing: what to expect
The Mont-Blanc range is unique in the world as it offers a tremendous range of climbs which are very accessible (thanks to the local infrastructure) and at the same time very challenging and in an exceptional setting. However the Mont-Blanc range is not an extended one. It is fairly compact, which means that the distances are not very large. You won't have very long approaches. On the other hand, it is steep, has relatively high altitudes (there are a lot of climbs close to or above 4000m), and also large elevation differences. Thus, although the approaches are short, the climbs are rather long. You have to get used to this scale.
The general approach involves walking into a mountain hut one day, and starting the climb (very) early the next morning. There are several reasons for this "alpine start" (remember, you are in the heart of the Alps ! You don't want to miss the last cable car :-)
- There is often a danger of thunderstorm in the afternoon.
Some routes are long enough so that you have to climb/approach a part in the night anyway, and night climbing is best done when you are fresh.
The heat of the afternoon can trigger rock fall and avalanches.
On steep warm snow crampons do not work well, and you are quite likely to slip. Note that it takes some experience and knowledge of the range to judge correctly of the two last points. There are almost always major hazards in gullies.
Huts - There are plenty of huts in the range, so that virtually all the areas are served by one of them. All of them have blankets and mattresses, except for a very few (called "bivouacs"). Most of them have a caretaker in summer, and are not manned in winter. To book a place in one of the huts, you have to find out its phone number. This information is available from the guidebooks, and a variety of places in Chamonix, including the Club Alpin Francais, Maison de la Montagne, and Office du Tourisme, and also by using the phone directory assistance. MORE>>>
|
|
